At Corteva AgriscienceTM, the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, we believe that the next generation of scientists will play a pivotal role in finding sustainable solutions to help meet the food and energy needs of a growing world. Our objective in organizing and supporting the Plant Sciences Symposia Series is to work directly with students at institutions around the world, facilitating a science-based forum that enhances discussion between the academic community and private industry, builds key organizational and management skills in future plant scientists, and exposes students to a diversity of career opportunities in agriculture.

What is the Plant Sciences Symposia Series?

The Plant Sciences Symposia Series is a global network of student-organized and student-driven scientific symposia, hosted by leading academic and research institutions around the world.

The series began as a single event in 2008 at the University of Minnesota, supported by Pioneer Hi-Bred, and later DuPont Pioneer. Corteva Agriscience currently supports about 40 events every year around the world as a key program in its commitment to academic outreach.

These symposia provide opportunities for the next generation of scientists to explore their interests in the plant sciences by inviting and hosting public and private experts in topics of their choosing.

The day-long events may include presentations by leading scientists in agricultural research and innovation, student presentations, workshops, poster sessions, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities.

Symposia events are usually free and accessible to the general public, and often offered via webinar.

How does it work?

Graduate students direct the content and organize the symposia on a fixed budget, with support from university faculty and departments.

Students are free to choose symposia topics and speakers of interest to them, and past symposia have touched on a broad spectrum of the agricultural and plant sciences, from plant breeding and crop improvement to high-throughput phenotyping, plant pathology, genomics and genome editing, and global food security.